TIET!!
So today I worked on my research proposal some more. Then I went to go have a meeting with my Ancient History professor. I thought she was good last Friday, now I think she is amazing. We discussed what my two essay topics would be about. Are you ready? 'Masculinity in Spartan Art' and 'Why did the Romans love the Spartans?' In other words, Spartan vase painting and translating Roman texts about Sparta. A.K.A. really really awesome. This way I won't fall behind in my Latin translating skills. It gets better. I also told her about my research project, and not only did she love my idea but she gave me a contact at Leicester and at Cambridge that she thinks will be able to help me with it. We also talked about the pros and cons of the British University teaching environments. It was a pretty great meeting.
Since I am feeling excited about ancient societies, I'm going to share something that has been bothering me about this university. The Leicester University coat of arms has a Latin text on it, as you can see on this blog on the lower left hand side. It says:
Ut Vitam Habeant
First of all, it seems weird to me that a university motto would be a clause, not even an entire sentence. Secondly, it translates literally as: In order that they may have life. Subjunctive. If translated as the imperative, it means: Get a life. I can't decide if that is lazy or cool or just ambiguous. I try to figure it out every time I look at it.
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2 comments:
The new pictures are really great. I want to know what some of them are. My favorite, of course, is "Flying Vanessa". Great stuff. Is there any way to enlarge them? I haven't found one.
That's also terrific news about your professor. Hopefully her contacts will pan out. I almost picked up a book on Sparta to send. Whaddya think?
It seems to me a lot of mottos start with "Ut." What a great pair of translations. Truth is uncertain, wisdom is ambiguous. Maybe the subliminal message is to be comfortable with uncertainty. Perfect for a great institution of learning.
L, k
Thats what you get for knowing to much when it comes to mottos. Or anything in latin probably.
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